Control means for agricultural implements



FIE E CONTROL MEANS FOR AGRICULTURAL IIMPLEMENTS 1 s. E. HILBLOM 2,332,719

Filed Jun 6, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 YINVENTIJH EAMUEI E Hdhlum EJY fiwmfiqm.

HTIY

Oct. 26, 1943.

S. E. HILBLOM CONTROL MEANS FOR AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS Filed June 6. 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E A Y SAIASELEHIb/UM EIY firrv Patented Oct. 26, 1943 CONTROL MEANS FOR AGRICULTURAL IIVIPLEMENTS Samuel E. Hilblom. Chicago, Ill.,assignor to International Harvester Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application June 6,1941, Serial No. 396,898

' 6 Claims.

This invention relates to an agricultural implement, and, more particularly, to an agricultural implement of the mower or harvester type.

The invention is concerned primarily with the provision of control means for the cutting mechanism of a mower. Most mowers of the type to which the invention may be adapted are represented generally by that form of mower which consists of a supporting frame which carries the cutting mechanism. The cutting mechanism extends laterally from the supporting frame in a normal operating position and includes a cutter-bar for harvesting the crop at one side of the supporting frame. In mowers of the type connected to or carried on tractors or other vehicles it is a common expedient to mount the cutter-bar for releasable rearward swinging movement horizontally with respect to the supporting frame when the cutter-bar strikes an obstruction in the field. The purpose of this expedient is to eliminate the possibility of damage to the cutting mechanism, such means being more common in connection with tractor-drawn or tractor-connected mowers because of the high speed at which the mower is operated. Releasable means are provided for maintaining the normal operating position of the cutter-bar, this means being releasable upon excess pressure applied to the cutter-bar when it strikes the obstruction.

One of the principal problems arising in con- I nection with the use of a mower of the type referred to is that involving the restoration of the cutter-bar to normal position after it has I been released. Various forms of releasable means have been devised which permit automatic reconnection of the cutting mechanism upon reversing the tractor, after which the cutting mechanism can be raised until the obstruction is passed over. In connection with the re,- lease of the cutting mechanism from operating position, there is also involved the problem of accommodating the driving mechanism to the cutting mechanism, which drive usually takes the form of a telescopic or disconnectable drive shaft arrangement associated with the power take-off shaft of the tractor. Various forms of devices have been worked out to provide for an efficient and automatic restoration of the driving arrangement upon reconnection of the cutter-bar and restoration thereof to operating po.-

sition.

The discussion of the foregoing problems is believed to render clear an appreciation of the problem which the present invention solves. In

a mower of the type described there must necessarily be provided means for raising and lowering the cutting mechanism so that the hel ht of cut may beregulated.v The means is ad itionally necessary for the purpose of moving the cutter-bar vertically from operating position to transport position in which latter position the cutter-bar extends vertically at one side of the supporting frame. The ordinary". lifting and lowering means is not satisfactory for use in a mower of this \type, since the connection be- (for continued operation. Inasmuch as the other releasable elements of the mower construction, such as the releasable means and the releasable driving mechanism'referrd to above, are substantially automatic in operation upon reconnection, it will be seen that a lifting connection which requires manual reconnection materially detracts from the eflicient operation of the entire mower.

It is, accordingly, the principal object'of the present invention to provide a lifting means for a mower or agricultural implement which is capable of release and automatic reconnection.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a lifting connection which is not completely separable or disconnectable, the connectionthus including means serving to limit relative horizontal swinging movement'between the cutting mechanism and the supporting frame.

The invention seeks as another object to provide means which are releasable during horizontal swinging movement of the cutting mechanism but which remain connected during operation of the controlling or lifting means for adr I Other objects and features of the invention ting mechanism. The shoe carries a laterally will appear in greater detail as the following deextending cutter-bar 28 provided in the usual scription is made of a preferred form of the inmanner with a knife 29 which is operated by a ventionas applied to a tra ctor-connected mower reciprocating pitman 30 connected at its inner of a well known type. 3 5 end to the fly-wheel it previously described."

In the drawings: This structure comprises generally the cutting Figure l is a side elevational view of a tracmechanism of the mower and the entire unit tor-connected mower embodying therein a prefrom the coupling bar. to the cutter-bar is carferred form of the invention; ried on the'supporting frame 12 for vertical Figure 2 is an enlarged view of portions of l movement about the horizontal axis provided at the lifting mechanism, the figure further illus- ,28 and fonhorizontal movement about the vertrating in broken lines the extended positions tical axis between the housings i8 and it, all

of the parts comprising that mechanism; of which is described in greater-detail below. lFlg'ure 3 is a plan view of the structure shown In its normal oper Position the t erin Figure 1; and, i 15 bar extends, of course, laterally at one side Figure 4 is an enlarged rear view of a portion of the supporting frame i2. Because of the arof the liftin mechanism. rangement between the housings i6 and It by The mower chosen for the purpose of illuswhich the sleeve ll forms a p'lvot'on a vertical tration is shown as being connected to the rear axis. the cutting mechanism may have rearend of a tractor. Onlya portion oi the tractor Word mollfemeht ntally with re p to the is shown. this portion including a draw-bar in frame I2 According to a well known form oi having thereon a pair of laterally spaced ears construction, releasable means are provided for ll providing a pivot on a horizontal axis for the n nin he normal position of the cuttinl forward end of a mower, part or supporting mechanisln with respectto the supporting frame.

frame II. This frame comprises a pair'of mem- In the p e h lnetflh e this means takes the herb which converge rearwardly of the tractor form of a pair of ex o itudinally disand slightly laterally thereof to a point at which no ed b rs i. n r which i nnec e o the they are connected by a. bracket II which forms I y ke 26 and the other of which is connected 'to a bearing for the axle, of ai rear caster wheel 8. depending bracket]! carried at the forward H. An intermediate portion of the frame [2 is 30 n f n side 0 the frame l2. One of'the provided with a support comprising a pair of memberg is p v W e latch P n 1 longitudinaly spaced members it across-conwhich is enga y a spring-pressed element 33 nected between the members of the frame and ca ed by t e other member ii. The members carrying a housing It. This housing includes a are maintained in l y-s rel n y a D downwardly extending sleeve portion i1 which 25 f s i e m b or ps 'he str ps 34 forms a pivot on a vertical axis for the 'mountare engaseable upon release 01' the la ch m of a complementary housing "9 The n u 38 to limit rearward swinging of the cutting ing, it carries a realiwardly extending shaft, not mechanism. 85 Shown in k n l n in F re shown, for driving a fly-wheel l9. The housings When the tractor is backed toward the released It and "contain suitable gearing, not shown, 40 cutting m chanism, the tractor and cuttin for driving the fly-whel it. This gearing and nism move toward each other and the the arrangement between the housings, providreleasable mechanism ompr s n the mem e s ing for the pivot on a vertical axis, form no part 3| is automatically restored to normal position,

v of the present invention and are illustrated and the latch members d bein e tleeldescribed generally only for the purpose of eny reehgeged- Th telescopic r ve shaft i o abling a clearer understanding of the operation pa l of u matic reconnection in an obvious of the invention in connection with the mower menhef- I illustrated. 'li'he parts just referred to are ade- AS best Shown in Figures 1 n 2. the mower quately illustrated and described in assignees includes n r l m n8 for raisin an lowerin patent to c. R. Raney et al. No. 2,166,967, dated the u e -b for he re u a ion of the he ht July 25, 1939, and reference is had thereto for a at which the crop is to be ou In a p e e detailed disclosure of the aforesaid parts. The -constructionthis control means comprises a o drive mechanism contained in the housings l8 L t101 m n 'in h form of a rock-shaft 35 rockand i8 is driven by a suitable drive shaft ary a r d in arifiss 36 n the frame It The rangement connected to the power take-on shaft rock-Shaft y oel'rles an upstehdlng op of the tractor. For the purpose of the present his lever 31 and includes on the g d illustration; the drive shaft is shown as being of the r m a ree wc d y extend n c ank arm oi the flexible and telescopic type including a Aquedleht 39 18 rried y he fr me II for universal joint connection 20, a slip clutch 2i, cooperation w h the v rl' A n n prin and a telescoping drive shaft 22, the latt r b no 40 is connected between the lever and the frame mg nne t t t t t power t k g and serves'to urge the lever forwardly toward the shaft. tractor. I

The lower housing It includes at one side The rearward end of the crank arm 38 of the tthereoi' a sleeve portion 23 which provides a rook-Shaft 35 is p v w Piv 1 n 4| di Journal or bearing on a horizontal longitudinal Posed h a transverse horizontal 8X15- This D axis for a forwardly extending portion 24 of a serves to m n n the arm 38 a first member 42 coupling bar 25. The coupling bar is thus mountmprising part of a ft n nn ti n between ed in the housing It for vertical movement about the control element and h ttin mechani mthe horizontal longitudinal axis provided by the The member 42 comprises D of links d y association between the parts 23 and 24. This 7 connected together in laterally spaced relation vertical movement is also relative to the supand including a p member n y porting frame It. The coupling bar extends leas w t a upp r p rti n of the arm 88. laterally grasswardly and carries in the convenecn'd 0f the member 42 Opposite the P v 4 tional fashion a yoke 26 which is inturn conis p ov ded w th a t 44 wh ch e t d on nected to an inner shoe 21 of the mower cuttudinally of the member, or substantially vertitransverse pin 41 to which is connected one end of a flexible connecting element in the form of a chain 48. The other end of the chain is connected as at 49 to a conventional form of gag lever arrangement 50 carried by the yoke 25. A torsional spring is carried by the pin 4| and has one end engaging the arm 38 and its other end, as at 52, engaging an ear 53 on the member 42. This spring serves to maintain the member 42 in its forwardmost position with the stop 43 thereon as at 52, engaging an ear 53 on the member 42. engaging the top of the arm 38.

In the normal operating position of the cutting mechanism, as shown in Figure 1, the line of force through the lifting connection is forwardly of to the. crank arm 88. The tension spring 40 is connected between the frame l2 and the lever 31 and serves to maintain-the lever in its forward most position so that the lifting chain 48 is normally taut; and the torsional spring 5| carried by the pin 4| serves to maintain the member 42 in its forwardmost position. There is thus pro-' vided an overcenter locking arrangement which normally prevents movement, of the parts'42 and 45 with respect to the crank arm 38. The quadrant 39 is preferably formed with but one notch therein to be engaged by the lever 31, this arrangement permitting free floating movement of the cutting mechanism vertically with respect to the frame l2. The single notch in the quadrant is utilized for the purpose of locking the lever 31 in a forward position when the cuttin mechanism is raised. As is well known to those versed in the art, operation of the gag lever mechanism by the control lever serves to raise and lower thecutterbar with respect to the mower shoe, and con tinued movement of the control lever serves to raise the cutter-bar to a position inwhich it extends substantially vertically at one side of the supporting frame. When this movement is effected, the mower shoe is likewise raised from the ground. This position is commonly referred to as the transport position of the cutting,

mechanism.

The general mower construction just described 1 is operated in the usual manner. When the cutof the cutting mechanism, the crank arm 38 of the rock-shaft 85 is moved downwardly because of the pull exerted by the lifting chain 48, as

shown in broken lines in Figure 2. When the arm 38 reaches this position, the line of force between the pin 48 oIfth member 42 and the point 49 between the chain 48 and the gag lever 50, is

moved rearwardly or to the other-side of the pivot pin 4|. The overcenter lock is accordingly broken or released and the members 42 and 45 extend or literally unfoldto accommodate the continued rearward swinging of the cutting mechanism. The rock-shaft 35 and crank arm 38 remains, of course, in position on the frame I 2. with the possible exception of limited rocking of the rock-shaft as respects the frame. As the 4 cutting mechanism swings rearwardly, the lifting connection, which includes the parts 42 and 45 and the chain 48, assumes the broken-line position ilustrated in Figures 2 and 3. As best shown in Figure 3, the rearwardmost end of the crank arm 38 is bent inwardly to extend generally in the directionof the angle which the parts assume when extended upon release. The slot 44 in the member 42 allows the pin 46 to slide therein, thus increasing the amount of movement that the cutting mechanism may have with respect to the frame.

This slot may be of varying lengths or may be I ing movement of the cutting mechanism.

Whe'n the cutting mechanism is wung forwardly to be restored to normal posi ion, initial movement thereof relieves the lever 31 of the force originally imparted thereto by the pull of the li i connection. The spring 40 then tends to urge the lever 31 forwardly. As the cutter-bar continues to move forwardly the lever 31 also -moves forwardly and the arm 38 moves upwardly.

At the same time the torsional spring 5| tends to return the member 42 to the full line position in Figure 2. The member 42 carries along with it the upper end of the member 45, and the cutting mechanism, moving forwardly, carries with it the lower end of the member 45. At the final movement of reconnection between the members 3| of the release means, the parts of the lifting mecha-- nism are completely restored to normal operating position and the line of force between the pin 46 and the gag lever arrangement 50 is again forwardly of the. pin 4| on the crank arm 38. The

- lifting mechanism may again be operated to regulate the height of the cutter bar.

provided for the accomplishment of the objects.

enumerated above. One of the aspects of the invention is the provision of a control means which is responsive to movement of a first part with respect to a second part in one direction but which is not disturbed from its normal position with respect to relative movement between the parts in another direction. The means also includes a limit or stop means for preventing complete separation of the parts upon extension or partial disengagement thereof. This latter means is important from the point of contributing materially to a general organization which stresses automatic reconnection of the parts of the implement, thus facilitating the use and opunderstood, of course, that the invention may be practlcably adapted to pther uses and that various modifications andalterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 1

. What is claimed is:

1. For an agricultural implement having a I tractor and a mower connected to the tractor for vertical movement with respect thereto in a first range of movement and for additional relative horizontal movement in a second range, control means for regulating movement of the mower' in the first range and including a controlelement positioned on the tractor to remain on said tractor during movement of the mower through either range; a connection between said element and the mower includin a pair of members pivoted together for relative movement, releasable means normally connecting said members together against relative movement during operation of the control element for controlling the mower in its first range of vertical movement, said last named means being responsive to second range horizontal movement of the mower to release said members.

2. For an agricultural implement having a frame and a'mower connected to the frame for vertical movement with respect thereto in a first range of movement and for additional relative horizontal movement toward and from the frame in a second range, control means for regulating movement of the mowerin the first range and including a control element positioned on the frame to remain on said frame during movement of the mower through either rangexaoconnection between said element and the mower including a pair of members pivoted together for relative movement, releasable means normally connecting said members together against relative movement during operation of the control element for controlling the second part in its first range of vertical movement, said last named means being. responsive to second range horizontal movement of the mower away from the frame to release said members, and means for restoring said members to normal position upon return of the mower toward the frame through its second range.

3. For an agricultural implement having a draft member anda mower associated with the draft member-for horizontal and vertical movement with respect thereto: means for regulating vertical movement of the mower including a control, element movably carried on the draft memher, and means connecting said element and ,the mower, said connecting means including a pair of members connected together for folding and unfolding and normally in folded position during vertical movement of the mower and unfoldable for horizontal movement of said mower.

4. For an agricultural implement having a draft vehicle and a mower associated with the first part for h rizontal and vertical movement with respect the \eto: means for regulating vertical movement oftthemower including a control element movably carried on the draft vehicle, and means connecting said element and the mower, said connecting means including a pair of members connected together for folding and unfolding and normally in folded position during vertical movement of the mower and unfoldable for horizontal movement of said mower. and yleldable means normally retaining the members in folded /position. and yieldable upon initial movement of the mower through its horizontal movement to permit unfolding of said'members.

5. For an agricultural implement having a frame and a mower associated with the frame for movement with respect thereto through a vertical and horizontal range: means for regulating the vertical range of movement of the mower including a control element movably carried on the frame and means connecting said element and the mower, said connecting means including a pair of members connected together for folding and unfolding and normally in folded position during the vertical range of movement of the mower and unfoldable for movement of said mower through the horizontal range, and means for returning the members to folded position upon return of the mower through the last named horizontal range of movement.

6. Control mechanism for an agricultural imoplemen-t having a mower movable vertically and having further movement horizontally, comprising means for controlling said mower through vertical movement thereof, said means including a support, a control element movable on the support and a-connection between the element and the movable mower, said connection including a plurality of extensible members and over-center locking means normally locking said memhere together and against extension during control of vertical movement of the movable mower and unlockable for extension of said members upon horizontal movement of said mower.

' SAMUEL E. HILBLOM.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION,

Patent No. 2,552,719. 0'ctober 2 191 mum. E. HILBLOMQ It is hereby certified that error appears the printed specification of the ebeve numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1;, first column, line 17; claim. 1 after "zalnge' strike out the mi i eert instead a colon; and second column, line 10, c1aim-h, for first part" read --draft vehic1e--.; end that the said Letters Patent eneumib read with thisi correction therein that the same may cnform to the record of the ease in the Patent Office. Signed and sealed this 29th day of February, A. D. 191414..

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commie sioner' of Patents. 

